***
The fitful wind dragged around them, then eased as daylight, though still hidden behind thick clouds, broke. Jadeth and Emaranthe huddled in the hollow behind the pedestal and dead cactus, a tiny hovering fire between them, trying to rest. The barely-lightened sky was icy and misty with the wind stilled and everything was damp.
Ivo and Jaeger stood guard side by side, arms crossed—towering sentinels. They had ganged up to make the women rest, and had earned glares and raised eyebrows from both females. In the end, even Jadeth had to acknowledge that Emaranthe needed rest more than anyone and had acquiesced too.
Haunted eyes watched from the shadowed depths of her hood. They fixed from time to time on each of her friends, a pang of despair settling deep in her chest. The thought of losing them had been too much.
They were all she had left.
Somewhere thunder rumbled. Emaranthe closed her eyes as the ground beneath her trembled. The thunder drifted into nothingness and she realized that she was what was trembling, not the earth…
Chapter Five
The Immortals Part One: Shadows & Starstone Page 9
